Related Posts
Partner on day 1 of every project 💀🔫
Fave group - over and out...
Laid off at Ogilvy yesterday
Water pump broken. How many points?
Additional Posts in Creatives
Hello Everyone! Does anyone have a connection at Netflix ! I am an author/marketing associate and truly my dream job is to work on the team that creates/produces Drive to Survive. I am a huge F1 fan! However, I am willing to start where I can and work my way there! I was laid off due to Covid and just trying to get back into the field and industry I love.
How many coffees do you drink a day??
Would anyone from Venables look at my book?
New to Fishbowl?
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Subject Expert
As long as what you’re saying is on-strategy, no one should be shutting you down.
Budget and how realistic it is to make it? Thats production’s job.
Subject Expert
I just dont think it’s good practice to kill an idea unless you know 100% for sure it can’t be done and youve spoken to a producer.
Mentor
I’ve gotten clients comfortable with buying weird ideas. I think the “crazy” needs to land somewhere simple.
Like your spicy chicken idea you referenced above (I know it was just a quick riff). A spicy chicken that’s so hot that it makes you cry...so you create a masterclass in acting to help actors cry on command. That’s a long walk from “our chicken is deliciously spicy” right?
I don’t think you need to reign in the craziness necessarily. You just have to keep it tightly focused on a simple message.
Bring a range.
Mentor
Too crazy or off brief?
Biggest problem is an idea like that is shot down instead of built upon. That would be gold for a brainstorm IMO.
You've got things like tears, emotions, people who need help finding the right words, guide/teacher figure, and more all at the surface.
Do you ever work with your CD or another writer to build out the ideas before presenting?
In brainstorms I am often shot down for being unrealistic. I have a reputation as the funny guy.
Don’t get me wrong. I am doing okay. But largely cos I work a lot and have good CDs to reign things in.
I had a similar issue and feedback. While it’s fun to joke around, your ideas need to be realistic. That’s the job. You’re only wasting time coming up with crazy ideas like this; they’re not seen as examples of smart thinking, they’re seen as not being an effective creative if that’s all you’re putting forward.
Stop doing it. Seriously.
Mentor
We’re never gonna survive, unless we get a little crazy.
🦭
I’d much rather tweak or pull back an overly ambitious or “impossible” idea than try to push a person into conceptual greatness who can’t go there naturally. Your crying spicy chicken idea could go a hundred ways other than the masterclass. So if you came in with that, we’d be able to encourage lots of ways for you to go with spicy+crying+relationships or acting or whatever. Versus come in with something safe like “things are getting SPICY in here” then we have a whole other conversation. You be you. Especially if you’re early in your career. Listen and learn. The migration from Junior to sr copywriter is when you start be self -filtering and bring the big bold ideas but a lot less of the things that shouldn’t be done. There’s a difference between “the client would never do that” and “the client should do that but probably won’t” the second one has a chance.
If your crazy ideas are based on the brief or an insight your CD can help make it feasible. If it’s crazy because it’s expensive as hell or the tech doesn’t exist then it’s a waste of time.
figure out what makes your idea interesting. if it’s purely doable because of budget, scale, or location, it may not be a good idea.
aim for blue sky, but see what a logistically possible version of it is and present it alongside as an alt.
Sometimes I bring crazy ideas along with a few not so crazy ones that are feasible. It’s a “hope for the best, prepare for the worst” type of thing. Worst being making another variation of some banner.
Yes, you are bonkers. Settle down.
Nah
I mean, I didn’t want to say anything but your ideas are dangerous and irresponsible. Especially this last one with the skydiving leprechaun. Please address this or I will be forced to escalate to HR.
Like a Fox!
Boring ideas are risky. And some producers like the challenge of crazy.
Here’s to the round pegs... in the round holes. 😞
Hey! As an ‘out there’ ideas person myself, I highly suggest you armor your ideas with strategy. A good strategist can help you present your crazy ideas in a way that makes them more digestible for everyone. I’ll bet you do have big ideas, and it’s good to be brave and to bring ideas that are different, but if you don’t come correct when presenting your work it will always be a struggle. Don’t stop bringing weird ideas you believe in, just think more about how you’re delivering them.
If you consistently bring crazy ideas that won’t answer to the brief or the budget or the expectations, someone like me would be less likely to want you on projects. I love creative thinkers and problem solvers and the best ideas but at the end of the day I can’t have seven teams working on a project. So I’ll pick the teams that I know will be effective. I’d suggest you bring a range of ideas to the table that prove you know how to do the job, and maybe some unrealistic ones that blow people away. We can always find a way to make them happen.
I imagine this depends on your level of crazy. Are you over budget crazy? Or are you running bathtub full of tiny giraffes chanting “We need coverage! ” for an insurance client crazy?
Where can I see the discussed idea?